You're reading: At least 2 killed, 4 injured in explosion at munitions depot in Balakliya

At least two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and four injured in an explosion at a large military ammunition depot in the city of Balakliya in Kharkiv Oblast, some 460 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces reported on Nov. 15.

According to the latest information, one of the injured servicepeople is in critical condition, while two others sustained severe injuries in an accident that occurred during ammunition recycling at the arsenal. They were hospitalized in the city of Kharkiv, while the fourth serviceman with the least severe injuries was given medical assistance in Balakliya.

“The affected persons are men aged between 20 and 30,” the Kharkiv city council stated, adding that two of the servicemen had 60 and 20% of their bodies burned, respectively, and the third sustained bone fractures.

A series of up to 20 detonations at the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 65th Missile and Artillery Arsenal located in the city’s northeastern suburbs were reported by local residents on social media starting at approximately 2.30 p.m. local time.

For years, the Balakliya arsenal was Ukraine’s largest military depot, with nearly 130,000 tons of munitions stored in a 3,680,000 square meter area.

A fire on March 23, 2017 destroyed nearly 70% of the depot’s munitions in a major disaster that caused massive explosions. Local residents were evacuated for nearly two days and two civilians were killed.

Following a social media uproar during the Nov. 15 explosions, the city’s mayor, Ivan Stolbovyi, confirmed the detonations but noted that the situation remained under control.

No evacuation was necessary, he added in an address to local residents.

Later in the day, however, the Interfax news agency reported a mine clearance specialist had suffered a fragmentation wound in his arm during the incident.

Eventually, the General Staff issued a statement confirming the accident and the casualties.

“The military servicepeople were recycling the remains of munitions and their un-transportable elements in the military unit’s technical area. As required by all safety regulations, (the works) were being conducted inside a crater excavated specifically for the (operation),” the military said.

After 3.15 p.m. local time, no new detonations were recorded. The civilian population in the city is safe, according to the General Staff.

Later in the day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk ordered an urgent probe into the disaster.